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mandag 30. juli 2018

Brannfly- og helikoptre - Alan Warnes

ALAN WARNES looks at how specially
adapted fixed and rotary-wing aircraft are being used to fight wildfires in
Europe, the US and Canada.

Conair Group uses an upgraded
version of the BAe 146, known as the RJ85 which is operated by AeroFlite for
aerial firefighting. (Conair)

As North America and Europe heats up
and the ground gets drier, airborne fire-fighting (AFF) agencies are preparing
themselves for the fire storms that are sure to come. Wildfires are now a
regular theme to the Mediterranean basin countries and many states in the US
and Canada. They are getting longer too.

“Many people these days don’t talk
about the fire season,” Shawna A Legarza, the US Department of Agriculture,
Director Fire and Aviation Management, recently pointed out. “The biggest
change we are all seeing in the US is the length of the fire season. It used to
start in May and continue through to October – a true six-month season. Now we
don’t see a fire season, it is all year round.”

Supporting her words in March were
the fire warnings being issued that week in most of Oklahoma, the Texas
Panhandle, southern Kansas, northeastern New Mexico, southeastern Colorado and
southeastern Missouri.

She added that blazes in the US last
year affected more than 10m acres, 10,000 structures and 8,000 homes – five
times higher than the average 1,500 houses a year. Around 29,000 fire-fighting
resources were deployed at the height of last year’s fire season – the closest
year to that was 2015. Aviation resources were truly tested, with 87,000 flight
hours flown in 2017 responding to fires in the US. The trend is likely to
continue and by mid-March there had already been more fires in 2018 than at the
same time last year.

There were similar stories right
across the Mediterranean Basin. Last year scorching temperatures swept through
southern Europe. France, Macedonia, Italy, Portugal and Spain were hit the
hardest but Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey all suffered
too.

So it is not surprising that new technologies
are either being studied or introduced into service against a threat that will
only get worse due to climate change.

European methods

In Europe, each country has its own
fleet of aircraft – some are civil and some military and each have their own
standard operating procedures. Unlike the European air forces, participating in
exercises never happens, which means working together is difficult and
dangerous. There have been calls, primarily by the French Ministry of Interior
which runs the Sécurité Civile fire-fighting fleet, to standardise the SOPs
across Europe as the US has, but so far nothing has materialised.

Christian Stylianides, the European
Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, spoke in France last
October of the need to face up to problems: “When we join forces in solidarity
on the ground, it often shows the limitations of our system. We need to fill
the critical gaps in our response, particularly in specific capacities such as
planes.” He went on: “It is not by coincidence that President Macron has called
for a European Civil Protection Force. First, we must increase our collective
capacity to respond, second to simplify and streamline the procedures and third
we must have stronger links between national capacities and the deployment of
assets at a European level.”

They are all real issues, one which
the EU Commissioner has to address quickly so that lives are not being lost,
although for some that’s too late. Most agree that one of the ways forward is a
European Union-funded Aerial Firefighting Force (AFF). However, there are many
obstacles and, when I asked why there wasn’t such a force, Stylanides said: “It
must be a sovereign solution, with countries using their own assets.”

However, some countries can’t afford
the appropriate AFF response and he appears to be ignoring the real issue.
Probably, because as one insider told me; ‘the northern EU countries will not
contribute to any fire-fighting budget. They don’t generally suffer from fires
so don’t see why they should pay.’

The Bombardier-415 is a popular
choice among most European aerial firefighting fleets but are not as popular in
the US. (Alan Warnes)

The European AFF are very good at
aerial fire-fighting, with military or ex-military pilots flying the majority
of the bigger water-bombers. The Bombardier-215/415 is the most common in
Europe, serving the needs of Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. They
are backed up with helicopters and bambi-buckets, while the fixed-wing S-2F
Trackers or AT 802 FireBoss act in the initial air attacks, dropping retardant
in a bid to stem the fires.

The use of intelligence surveillance
and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, which were once the domain of the military, to
track fires and detect the hot spots has been on-going for a number of years in
Europe.

In France, Luxembourg-based CAE
Aviation has been contracted to provide 70 days of ISR work with a Cessna 208
Caravan, based at Aix en Provence. The aircraft is fitted with some of the
latest technologies, including a L3 Wescam MX-15 EO/IR turret. With a
customised work station in the back, the operator monitors the ground, the fire
and the movement of the fire-fighting assets. He is usually accompanied by a
fire-fighter who will understand the working practices and jargon of those on
the ground. By looking at the main video screen, the operator can use his mouse
to click to tell him the characteristics of the fire, including direction,
speed, size and where the hot-spots are. Video is data-linked real time and in
high definition to the CODIS (Chief Operating Officer at the Incident Command
Post) and COS (Commander Security Operations) but can stream via the Internet
to the Ministry of Interior HQ if required. They use an antenna, fixed
underneath the aircraft which folds down in flight. The ICP takes the downlink
on a tablet, meaning that the CODIS can see the aerial picture wherever he or
she is.

The aircraft flies at around 9,500
feet recording all the action unfolding below. Personnel on board have three main
tasks: forest surveillance – watching the areas where fires are likely to break
out; the surveillance of new fires and monitoring the progress of
extinguishment. The use of ISR is certainly helping the fight in France and is
catching on all over Europe and the rest of the world.

US restrictions

This massive Boeing 747-400 has been
converted by Global SuperTanker into a water-bomber which can drop 19,200
gallons of retardant in eight seconds! (Alan Warnes)

While European AFF suffers from a
lack of cohesion, the Americans have to confront a lot of bureaucracy. For
example, a state AFF agency such as CalFire (see later), cannot buy equipment
from out of state – it has to be bought from a local supplier, which often
increases the price quite significantly. Then there is the difference of
responsibility between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the state agencies. The
former has responsibility for all the federal land – the big national parks and
vast tracts of wilderness, while the state will generally cover areas where there
are houses and buildings.

Unlike the Europeans, the US
fire-fighting agencies don’t generally like the Bombardier-215/-415. It isn’t
popular in states like California because its Department of Fish and Wildlife
doesn’t want Super Scoopers picking water up from one lake which could be
infested by the virulent Quagga and Zebra mussels, then being dropped in
another. These virulent mussels wreck fishing stocks, often killing native
mussels, crayfish, and snails. They are believed to be costing the US economy
up to $1bn per year.

Most US states have their own
fire-fighting agency.

In the US, most states have their
own fire-fighting agency. In California, McClellan-based CalFire is tasked with
the majority of the Sunshine State’s AFF needs. Its fleet, second in size only
to the USFS, is based at the former McClellan AFB near Sacramento. Its fleet of
over 50 aircraft, made up of air tankers, helicopters and air attack aircraft,
are deployed to airfields all over California. They comprise 23 S-2T Turbo
Trackers, 12 UH-1H Hueys, 15 OV-10A Broncos, two King Air A200CTs and a Beech
Baron. The pilots and maintenance personnel are generally the responsibility of
Dyncorp International which provides 58 pilots and 90 maintenance
personnel for CalFire’s operations.

The Turbo Trackers have a 1,200
gallon tank and are tasked to drop the retardant along with large air tankers
(LATs) or very large air tankers (VLATs), owned by contractors. The majority of
helicopters, which are tasked to drop water, are flown by contractors. All work
under two differing contracts with the USFS or state agency. Exclusive Use
means the aircraft should be available for a minimum of nine hours at a
specified location ready to go within 30 minutes, or Call When Needed when an
aircraft has to get to the fire within 24 hours. The latter is becoming more
common, although companies don’t particularly like them because it is difficult
to budget the revenue.

The air tankers are working in
conjunction with the fire-fighters on the ground, known in the US as ‘Hot
Shots’. In California, the OV-10 Broncos are part of a bigger air operation and
act as the lead aircraft, usually flying at around 5,000ft above the ground,
with an Air Tactical Group Supervisor (ATGS) in the rear seat. This person is
peering down above the burning area, observing everything. An air attack plan
is devised and a fire traffic area (FTA) set up. No aircraft are allowed inside
the seven-mile restricted zone around the fire without the ATGS‘s permission.
This way of working happens right across the US, but in Europe every country
has different ways of operating.

In the US, many AFF contractors and
agencies are looking at more innovative solutions to combat these disasters. We
no longer see tired old military aircraft being converted into air tankers. New
breeds are appearing, like the BAe146, Q400, RJ85, Boeing 737, Boeing 747,
DC-10, MD-87 and even the Viking CL-415EAF Enhanced Aerial Firefighter. Most of
these contractors would love a piece of the European action too but, so far,
none have been successful.

Through the night

More attention is now being paid to
accurate targeting. (Alan Warnes)

Targeting the fire in a more
efficient way for 24 hours a day, is the holy grail for the AFF community.
Right now, as soon as dusk sets in, all the assets return to base, which can be
frustrating. Wayne Coulson, CEO of the Coulson Group, is continually pushing
the technological boundaries. He recently told me of a night fire-fighting
operation trial last year in Victoria, Australia. “I used an S-76D fitted with
an EO/IR turret, with a laser illuminator to guide the NVG-equipped S61
helicopter on to a fire.”

On footage he showed an S61 picking
up water and flying 1,000ft over the fire before dropping its load. Six drops
were made during the night in question, and viewing the IR imagery footage, the
white heat was eliminated. It’s a very exciting development and one that will
need further trials in the US. The helicopters will, of course, need to be
upgraded with night vision systems, which is where companies like Aviation
Specialities Unlimited will increase in importance.

More sophisticated systems used by
the US military are starting to migrate to the AFF world. The USAF’s Brigadier
Dana A Hessheimer from the Joint Staff, California Military Department,
recently spoke of how a MQ-1 Predator (now replaced by MQ-9 Reaper) unmanned
aerial system (UAS) was used to support fire-fighting operations around the
clock during California’s Rim Fire in August 2013. “We are using technologies
overseas to [monitor people and vehicles] so we can use them to fight fires –
looking for hot spots and people. It is all real time technologies, with the
full motion video the biggest asset we provide.”

The downside is it took three days
to get approval – which wastes valuable time for the Incident Command Post
(ICP). “But we are working on that” said Hessheimer. Over 500 hours of recording
was provided during its operation. But before the UAV could start its work, the
Dept of Agriculture has to agree to cover the huge cost, which can run into
millions, of such an operation. While many agree it is a fantastic capability,
financially it is not within the scope of existing budgets.

Insitu has also used its Scan Eagle
UAS. The company has a lot of expertise, with over one million flight hours,
and 120,000 launch and recoveries, and believes it has a lot to offer the AFF.
Infra-red intelligence provided by the small UAV can record the fire’s
intensity and its movement.

In August 2015, Insitu operated one
of its Scan Eagle UAS during Paradise Fire in Washington’s Olympic Park. Paul
Allen of Insitu told the author: “It was in a pretty remote location, and
conditions were not good but it worked with a helicopter. From looking at the
feeds coming from the ScanEagle we gave the helicopter pilot commands, pointing
out the exact location of the heat source and he got the water right on the hot
spot.”

At some point in the future, a pilot
could be data-linked with the imagery but, as Paul told me, “they need to train
first, they don’t want to add another element into a very dynamic environment
already.”

Dave Toelle from the Colorado Center
of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting, has been studying
UAVs and is set to provide the findings to other states, “they would be smaller
but cheaper and would be used for public safety and wildland firefighting.”

Helicopters

More helicopters are being converted
into fire fighters with the integration of modern internal water tanks. This
S-70 operated by PJ Helicopters is fitted with the Simplex 370i which can house
850 gallons. (Alan Warnes)

Helicopters, too, are now being
modified with AFF tanks rather than bambi-buckets, which California forbids
from being used over densely populated areas. Simplex has developed five new
rotorcraft Fire Attack systems in recent years. Mark Zimmerman, President and
CEO of Simplex Aerospace told the author: “It includes a 1,000 gallon Fire
Attack system with a retractable hover pump and a SkyCannon which directs the
water, for the Chinese made AC313 helicopter; a 2,800 gallon Internal mounted
Fire Attack systems for the CH-47 Chinook; a 520 gallon Fire Attack system for
the Korean Aerospace Surion helicopter and an 850 gallon Internal mounted Fire
Attack system for the Black Hawk helicopter.”

With high-rise fires being a major
cause for concern the world wants more sophisticated fire-fighting systems for
its helicopters and if they can use a pump to operate in shallow water even
better.

The days of using retired transport
aircraft and helicopters for aerial fire-fighting is a thing of the past. A new
industry is emerging in the US, although as one leading player told me: 'If you
want to make money then you need to look at another business then you need to
look at another business!’